5 Reasons Why You Are Struggling To Make That Decision

Wow, could you just make a decision already? Please!

How many times have you heard that from yourself or others? You wonder why what seems like such a simple decision for others is so difficult for you. Or perhaps you are usually extremely decisive and yet find yourself waffling between the options presented like a kid in a candy store. Why are you struggling to make this decision? Here are 5 common reasons why you may be struggling to make that decision:

1. Your Thinking It "Should" Not Be This Difficult

You are not getting any closer to making a decision by mentally or verbally beating yourself up for having a tough time making a choice. How often to you tell your self this "should" not be so hard? I "should" have made a choice already. I "should" know what to do. "Should" signals the presence of expectations or beliefs that are often unproductive or unrealistic. Mentally, it takes you out of the space where you make your sound decisions. Instead of getting caught up in what "should" be, focus on what is and how to move forward from exactly where you are.

2. You Are Distracted By Other Things

Hey you *snaps fingers* FOCUS!!! How can you expect to make a sound decision if you keep allowing your attention to wander to other things? Turn off the internal and external distractions for a moment. Pull yourself away from the internet and the video games, or the people that are providing an excuse to procrastinate on making this decision. Ok, maybe you are not willing to turn the phone off, but how about airplane mode for just a moment. It's a great setting for your phone. Use it liberally. Quiet your thinking, stop talking and be still. Focus your attention on one thing at a time instead of multitasking your way through the day. Set priorities for which decisions to tackle first.

3. You Are Afraid of Change

Shhh! This is our little secret. You are afraid of change. Yes, I know. It is not that things are so great right now, you just feel anxious about how things may change. That is natural and you are not alone. At some point during the ebb and flows of your life, you will feel a reluctance or anxiety about change. Sometimes even the best changes can feel like the moments before a storm. Give yourself the space to think about what that fear is really about. Look to your circle of support for a safe space to be calm and do familiar things. Prepare yourself for what's ahead by accepting that you will feel fear from time to time. Just do not allow that fear to stop you from moving forward.

4. You Doubt Your Ability and Power

Those great options are not intimidating. You are intimidated by your own lack of confidence in your ability and power to make the right choice. You are reminding yourself of all the bad decisions you have made in the past. OR you are playing this horror movie over and over in your mind about what things will look like if you make the wrong choice. Well, you could continue to punk yourself out, or you could choose to move into a more positive place. How about making a list of reasons why you are the right person to make this choice. How about reminding yourself of the times in your life when things worked out well because of a choice you made. What about the lessons you learned from the mistakes you made before? Commit to apply those lessons to this decision so that you are building upon your own wisdom and creating a better situation. If it helps, think through how to handle the situation if things go wrong. Speak to your ability and power to handle whatever comes your way.

5. You Do Not Have a Clear Objective or Purpose

The only thing more frustrating than having a handful of bad options is having a handful of great options. What is the difference? How do you know which one is best? The biggest reason why you are struggling to make that decision is because you don't have a clear objective or purpose to weigh your options against. Having a clear purpose means having a set of necessary requirements or a specific vision of the desired result in the end. Purpose is an arrow or compass pointing you in a particular direction. If you know the way your purpose is pointing you, you can compare it to the direction each option will take you. You may have heard people say "start with the end in mind." Making even the most difficult decision is so much easier when you have the power that comes from knowing your purpose.